Europe

The British Isles The two main islands are Great Britain and Ireland. The country, The United Kingdom, is located on the island of Great Britain and includes the northern part of Ireland.

United Kingdom- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It is officially called a Constitutional Monarchy or a Parliamentary Democracy. It has two houses of government, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. GOV.

Parliament Membership in the House of Lords, for most of history, has been heredity positions. (They inherited their positions from their fathers.) The House of Commons elect the Prime Minister. The current Prime Minister is David Cameron .

Monarchy The monarch, presently Queen Elizabeth II, has only ceremonial duties. She is a figurehead, a symbol of the country.

The UK consists of four parts: England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland England, Scotland, and Wales are considered by their citizens to three different countries, sharing a common government.

Scotland

Sean Connery urges fellow Scots to vote for independent Scotland

Each region contains its cultural identity. In the past few years, Scotland and wales have sought and won more autonomy, (The right to make decisions about their own region.) September 17th 2014 they vote.

Populations The UK’s population is about fifty-nine million. By far, most of the people are of English descent.

Chunnel

Chunnel

Scandinavian Countries Consists of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.

Scandinavia

These countries share a common culture and history, (descendants of the Vikings).

They have similar languages, religious cultures, (Lutheran), and political beliefs; (most are socialist). The Scandinavian Peninsula contains the countries of Norway and Sweden. Norway

Sweden

Norway

Viking Video

France The oldest ally of the US; helping the US in the Revolutionary War.

Even though they had their differences, France and the US have a strong bond. French companies have invested heavily in South Carolina and other parts of the US.

Vatican City (Holy See)

St. Peters Square

Vatican City (Holy See) About 1.2 billion people worldwide profess the Catholic faith. This is the center of that faith. Area: .44 Square kilometers world's smallest state Population 839 (July 2013 est.) Election of the pope is limited to cardinals less than 80 years old

Economic endeavors Printing production of coins Medals postage stamps Mosaics worldwide banking financial investments

Military Pontifical Swiss Guard Corps 19-30 years of age for voluntary military service no conscription must be Roman Catholic, a Swiss citizen, with a secondary education defense is the responsibility of Italy

Present concerns threats against minority Christian communities in Africa and the Middle East, international development,

Germany It has the largest population in Western Europe; over 80 million people. It was divided into East and West Germany at the end of WWII, but was reunited in 1989.

Germany SC connection Like France, Germany also has strong ties to the US. Many German companies have also invested in South Carolina and the US. Examples of German companies in our area are BOSCH, Bayer, and BMW. BMW- Bavarian Motor Works

Eastern Europe The part of Europe that was once under control of the former Soviet Union. The Soviet Union forces these countries to practice their economic form, communism.

When the Soviet Union fell apart, all Eastern European countries began to develop a capitalistic, economic, and a democratic form of government. Today all of Eastern Europe is considered to be democratic and socialistic/ capitalistic.

Warsaw Pact This was a defense alliance, like NATO, that was formed by the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe to counter the threat of NATO.

End of U.S.S.R Beginning in the 1980’s the Russian people were unhappy with their form of government and the economy began demanding a change. In the early 1990’s Russia, the main part of the Soviet Union, abandoned their communist system. Mikhail Gorbachev Vladimir Putin